Very well continue watching R T International with me carrying a senior u. N. Official is accusing the United States of torturing whistleblower Chelsea Manning with her continued incarceration a letter from the world body special rapporteur on torture to the u. S. Government from last november has only now just come to light the practice of coercive dipper of ation of liberty for civil contempt involves the intentional infliction of progressively severe mental and emotional suffering for the purposes of coercion and intimidation at the order of judicial authorities such deprivation of liberty does not constitute a circumscribed sanction for a specific offense but an open ended progressively severe measure of coercion filling all the constitutive elements of torture or other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Chelsea manning was a u. S. Military Intelligence Analyst but was arrested in 2010 for leaking classified information to wiki leaks she was convicted in 2030 into 35 years in prison president obama commuted to the interns just before leaving office but she was arrested again last year for declining to testify against wiki leaks publisher julian a sarge Global Affairs analyst patrick keling senseis the u. N. Letter will be a boost for supporters of both mining and our sons war lawyer and activist kevin zeese explain to us how the law is being used to kill worth money. In a grand jury which is a secret process before someone is indicted or you go for it prosecutions occurring to determine whether someone should be prosecuted this is a power of the court to coerce someone in to testify now this law it can all allow a person in the United States to be held for the length of the grand jury in order to coerce them to testify before the grand jury and no longer serves the purpose it was intended to serve its now become a weapon of prosecutors it was initially designed to protect people who are being investigated the reason theyre kept secret because it trying to protect people being investigated before they were indicted so you dont know that theyre being investigated but in the longer serves our purpose and now serves the purpose of being a tool for prosecutors thats abused and i think Chelsea Manning is a victim of that abuse the report by Niels Meltzer does give an Additional Air of legitimacy to the case of manning to really back up all of the things that manning supporters that the song supporters have been saying now for over 6 months and that this is unjust that this is unfair theyre trying to create something new this is the whole point of coerced trying to coerce manning to come up with something that the o. J. Can use to make a real case against the sunday shows you how flimsy this is this is the degrade degradation of the Justice System in the United States and also in the u. K. As well in the case of the songes more like more resembles a Banana Republic style facade of a state judicial apparatus this is all part of a campaign to reframe to reframe julian sunshine and wiki leaks as it is from a journalist and a publication to being a cyber criminal and a hostile Foreign Intelligence Agency the entire case all the indictments against dishonor are based on that we frame in principle. And they are trying to get Chelsea Manning to give them something to actually make that narrative work and shes not shes not volunteering anything and this is frustrating the us system tremendously. Julian i saw it isnt fairing much better he is also behind bars in a british prison now thought being dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy where he spent the previous 7 is his correspondence. Few buildings in the walls have come under as much scrutiny as this one here at the door and its not in those 4 walls for 7 long years possibly the most famous whistle blower who time to get a sandwich was hold up until 8 court 2019 to 48 world was sensationally dropped out which should start to ease. The work for the wiki leaks founder this was a huge betrayal by the latin American Country that had sheltered him since 2012 aquittal said the relations had soured with the songe and his bad behavior triggered them opening the door to the police and revoking his asylum but its worth noting that just a bit acquittals bank account got an almighty boost with a 4200000000. 00 loan from the i. M. F. Where the u. S. Has huge Voting Rights a staunch is currently sitting in belmarsh prison in the countrys capital sucking up to meet sentence but jumping bail in 2012 but many are saying that what hes actually been handed is a death sentence because over 60 doctors wrote an open letter to the u. K. Government saying that he might die in prison britain for its part denies any wrongdoing the allegations mr son she was subjected to torture and founded and hold false the u. K. Is committed to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that no one is ever above it but long to its defense rings hollow in light of reports by Many Organizations including the new web which claims that as a Scientist Health continues to deteriorate authorities are simply standing idly by the blatant and sustained arbitrariness shown by both the judiciary and the government in this case suggest an alarming departure from the u. K. s commitment to humor. Rights and the rule of law unless the u. K. Urgently changes course under alleviates the inhuman situation mr songes continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing him his life but as sanchez but also his well being is not only fight on his hands ever since wiki leaks exposed gross misconduct by the Us Government washington has been pushing for his extradition on espionage charges giving him a helping hand the British Government despite International Outcry the u. K. Home secretary signed a us extradition request putting us on that one step closer towards being charged for publishing classified information and conspiring to hack the top of the computer the 18 charges that washington has put forward could carry a maximum sentence of 175 years behind bars the reaction all over the wild people are crying foul they say that this is not a case about punishing a crime but of silencing for us julian or singled out for special treatment for one reason only heres the truth hes such an innocent important man is because he is a Freedom Fighter however much you dislike. His case is the most important for me give you freedom this is just. Miss rule of law and operation. Washingtons bid to get asylum stateside was also helped by not the european country sweden the scandinavian nation was investigating a Rape Allegation against the whistleblower and would have been within its rights to request his extradition to face trial since that case predated the u. S. Request london would have been obliged to send a songe to stockholm fast but sweden has now closed that investigation conveniently removing the. Final obstacle for the americans funny how it all worked out a sanchez extradition hearing is set for factory 2020 but in light of these recent talents of the bands fears are growing that does little chance of play this close to sure i mean what and of course what news most of the United Nations special report or tortures how corrupt and how in stress that the entire system in the u. K. Including the judiciary and the media has become when it comes to julian. You know before you call course earlier this year. Was a confirmation that what neil smelters said seems to be true that julian. Was a lot of attention was fair trial. While one always hopes that lead to justice will prevail u. S. Authorities have rather spared a client wired for a start so it might well turn out that when a country is dirty secrets are risk of being exposed justice is a word thats up for interpretation so as to tailor r. T. Hong kong saw in the new year with more violent protests with rally organizers putting the turnout at more than a 1000000 there were around 400. 00 arrests with police blaming radical protesters for the unrest. Think. Was. Wrong place a mosque to rioters recklessly vandalized public facilities in several areas with arties may have to end the rally early after the clashes erupted washington supported the protests from the outset but Hong Kong Based political scientist joseph chung think takes more to do with building wider political leverage against beijing. Did you notice states who probably will support hong kong but i dont know trauma ministration most likely the hong kong issue and various human rights issues in china and sparkling tubes to exert pressure on china people would like to see a novel nice asian process a reconciliation process but apparently beijing and the Hong Kong Government and have maintained their heartlands in and they have fused to me and the concessions to the protestants and to ducal democracy in the. Thailands military chief has been killed in a Helicopter Crash near the capital taipei the Defense Ministry says that 7 others also died 5 other people who were on board on known to have survived after the military helicopter made a crash landing in the mountains near the capital at this stage is still not known why the x. Office got into difficulty. Now with 29000. 00. Dusted lets take a look back at more of the events that defined the year. Now socially politically politically and beyond 29000 calls a fair bit of upheaval to our lives worldwide but for some of the march for martin at. As we head into the twentys leaving more than a few people fearing for their much loved heritage lets take a look at one no one tradition seem to be under threat try january now in france there is anger over a proposal to adopt a dry in january a month of abstaining from alcohol the excesses of the holidays and french wine is as much a part of the dinner table as the food itself so its not going down too well he has some ideas on how to freshen up from the new year hangover without having to put a cork in your culture. When you raise a gloss of wine or beer in frogs its customary to say so and say which means health but if you waking up with a sore head off the celebrations on new years eve you may be wondering if all those song days have done you any good ofter all and instead of trying a hair of the dog you might think that its time to join the millions of others across the world in having a little bit of a breather from alcohol thats right its time for to roy january a month of alcoholic abstinence its been so popular in the angle from world that there were even plans to introduce it here in france but to the french who are famous for their love of a little plonk even you know what troy january is trying. No its not possible it doesnt exist in france dried january i have not heard of it i have heard of many other traditions like move imber is that its Something Like that but with wine i dont think its possible no no not at all no with free no no i dont understand it this really exists so a pretty much a resoundingly nor perhaps all the more reason to kick start the idea given that alcohol kills tens of thousands of people in france every year thats exactly what frances Health Agency salty public falls wanted to do but after explaining to brazilians what dry january is what they think about it. In a month without drinking whole its difficult for the french. I could try it but id rather not it would not be too pleasant without wine. The french are going to die. Well that would be the reaction i mean why. Its like not eating because theyre not used to it who drinks more than me i dont know hard to respond it seems for once president might call really has his finger on the pulse on what the french are thinking for hes said to have fiercely opposed to promoting a moratorium on alcohol in january or perhaps its any toy of the year and given the choice will parisians be raising a normal colics all day for dry january well if they slaughter anything to go by probably not to dilute the other 3370 maybe it makes to reserve a bit of alcohol just a bit unlike those women who drink discreetly in the kitchen. I prefer wine friendly almost was a nice small meal and even when you have it i prefer why you know. Of that what wine is it if its a very good wine then wine. Well that settles it to draw it january is definitely not a french thing and all not no from us here in paris bone and ne is salty. More about elections on the year just gone up ahead on the big screen and small some of the movies and shows that got us all talking terrified or just downright furious all after the break stay with us. Guys report the 1st episode of 2020. Days youre ever in are going to have some really special guest dr Michael Hudson you know back in the seventys 970 s. There is a movie called death wish with Charles Bronson remember that i remember that we could do a remake and you were the star you play the Charles Bronson role as called dead way. And youre a vigilante banker economist that goes around new york blowing away bad debt where you think i love it ok i wasnt that. Good hope to do something to. Put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. So when you want to be president and you. Want. To go in the press this is what before 3 of the more people. Interested always in the water. Should. Welcome back well lets continue swinging back to some of the cultural highlights of the policy year now now it was an old protest demos and trade wars we managed to escape into some decade defining t. V. Series a movie says well. Now it meant saying goodbye to some long running blockbuster favorites while out those left audience is deeply divided dont you hawkins takes a closer look. Its been a long hearing global news entry scandal uncertainty and cliffhangers weve seen it all at least we could all wind down with a good movie everyones favorite pastime bringing people together in a cinema or on the sofa well ok 29000 hasnt quite been like that. Spring arrived bringing a monumental conclusion in the epic game of thrones saga it won millions of fans around the world i mean do you even know anyone who hasnt seen at least one episode it even became a feature in International Twitter diplomacy. It took 8 years to get literally everyone to jump on the west the rose by and wagon but just one series to get people fuming about the finale. Game of thrones season 8 has to be the most disappointing Season Finale of the decade Merry Christmas to everyone except the people who like the game of thrones series finale. Thinking about how cursed we are to live in the timeline where both the game of thrones finale and star wars finale sucked people even launched a petition to reshoot the final season nearly 2000000 signatures and still rising and if you thought breaks it was divisive dont get me started on that file episode and interesting. How do you. Mind that i was just really. After such division of viewers would desperate for some unity and in came should noble people flock to see the latest hit stand aside game of thrones as the draw more about the worlds Worst Nuclear Accident shot right up the t. V. Rankings. Is on fire. And every atom of uranium is like a bullet. With a mini series struck such a chord with viewers in both east and west it also struck some bones of contention why were there no ethnic minority actors how accurate was the science why so many cliched stereotypes nope so noble couldnt please everyone either and with every new episode came a new take on just how accurate the drama was or wasnt their characters are distorted and misrepresented as if they were villains they were nothing like that the plan work is a shown as though they are scared of everything this does not reflect reality in reality they were quite decisive very decisive not one of the operators fled after the explosion is a composed calm intelligent man who never denied his responsibility also became the knight screw darker and so that our screens walk in phoenix is joker delved into the murky depths of society and the human mind. When you bring me down. Introduce me as joker. I and as the height grew so did the panic yeah people actually got worried that film could provoke members of the socalled Community Self pitying missiles or mystic lonely online trolls into violence alarm bells even rang in the us military soldiers of a board about the risk of attacks during screenings it was all right on the night there was no Mass Violence critics loved phoenix but would divided over the film itself and whatever you thought of it some people certainly took inspiration from the character mixing fantasy with the reality and certainly sparking debate. Nag nag nag nag contact. The listen of joe cruise the radical change is needed this is not enough and this is what all those democratic leftists im not aware of this dissatisfaction the grows today is a serious one this is the channel deal with it with gradual reforms more tolerance to health care now its a lot of themes of dystopia you know people dont really know where society is headed some people are loving the direction some are very scared and thats why movies like joker really speak to people another thing were seeing is is that people are so sick of politics that they also just kind of want to zone out and they want something thats just just Pure Entertainment but the number one movie this year was a bender is the end game and i think that also speaks to that as well is that theres not really a political message in that its just kind of eye candy and something to zone out to its mindless entertainment and thats important i think to. People who are just sick of hearing about politics all the time because it affects everything right. Well thats enough controversy for tonight christmas is off for all the season of goodwill to all it seems as though people just love to have a good old squabble over things even the magical world of cinema just call please everyone unless of course you happen to be baby goat or would be holding. The baby in. Thanks for joining us here on r. T. International and wed love to hear your highlights from 29000 so they get in touch by sharing them on social media join us again top of the hour. But if she warned you and i did the dishes at the bottom or those jeans near the speech and you see me we need you blue truth. About that. Yes ok. In the news i mean guys are that in fact involved. A lot of people see sawing and fuzzy parts of the 2 kids each other both. As a little 3 as if. The. God that they were days doing this is. People who knew she would include him. In the United States president ial candidates debate the future of the u. S. And the world. Max kaiser and Stacy Herbert dig into the burning questions of this election cycle one topic every week well stacks student debt trade wars corporate money universal basic. And more catch up with whats front running this sunday exclusively on r. T. Alone welcome to worlds of the limits of my language mean the limits of my world the loss of our lives with inspired sad in 1920 why then the following century of booming linguistic studies have only confirmed that if our language is indeed shapeless as much as we think we shape them do we ever really speak our mind well to discuss that im now joined by letter but i did speak associate professor of cognitive science at the university of california san diego professor bird its a pleasure and honor to talk to thank you very much for your time thanks so much for having me now i know that you have long been studying the relationship with the mind the language and the world around us and i think you come to some very humbling conclusions as much as real life to see ourselves as the masters of our thought and our boards it works in the opposite direction to our language shape our experience in some very profound ways how does that work well of course we all have many years of experience speaking a language and we absorb so many habits and so many important structures from the language each human language is exquisitely structured there are about 7000 languages and all of that experience of speaking a language hearing a language around you trains your mind to focus on some things and not others theres always potentially an infinite set of things you could notice about the world you could potentially try to remember about the world and language stream and to think about only some of those things to focus. Only those things that the people before us who built the language over many generations those things they thought were most important those things got built into the language and so now those are the things that we tend to focus on and the structures that we tend to conform and the heat works also in very subtle ways we do not necessarily we kind of appropriated to ourselves through our own free will but without necessarily realizing that there are forces that imposing certain structures on ourselves you know we all take the language that we speak for granted its like the air that we breathe we dont notice it and in fact most of us believe that we simply perceive reality the way that it is in fact we know through many years of psychological experiments so thats very far from the truth we dont see things just the way that they are instead the world that we the internal world we live in is highly constructed by the structures of our brains but also by the structures of our languages and cultures that tell us how to put things together we often talk about these symbiotic and lead forcing relationship it been language and culture and its very hard for me personally to resist thinking about that relationship in cheek in that terms enough to sort of struggling with it for some time i wonder if its actually a fitting metaphor or not in terms of what comes 1st but the terms of how the to encapsulate reproduce one another yeah so i think of language as a part of culture language is a really good way to make a part of culture very long term and universally distributed so if i make Something Like a magical engender a part of the language well all speakers of that language are going to have to use that structure its not going to be optional if youre speaking russian you cant just speak russian and not use grammatical gender no ones going to recognize you as a real russian speakers and so it becomes something thats then universally distributed through the culture and the languages can lose genders can add genders that process is going to have to. Take a very long time whereas other cultural practices can come and go much more fluidly and may only affect some portions of the population but how far do you extrapolate from that relationship the fact that english and to some extent russian have both added to their quick to assign blame or responsibility does it have anything to do with the incarceration rates in the United States and then russia being among the worlds highest its really hard to draw a Straight Line from language to a statistic like that because there are so many other factors that also all play and so we would have to do a very careful study trying to or a lot is that even possible do you think you can design a study like to prove that connection the reason it would be hard to do in the real world is because if were going country by country there arent actually that many countries in the world and so you very quickly run out of statistical power thats a technical answer to your question but you could do expect some smaller scale